he earliest traces of the Monassukapanough Tribe (later shortened to Sappony) are found on a 1612 map created by Virginia colonist John Smith, which shows the tribe west of the Chesapeake Bay, close to the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1714, the ancestors of the High Plains Community joined other eastern Siouan-speaking tribes in Williamsburg to sign a peace treaty with the Virginia Governor. Many of those residing at Fort Christianna, adopted the surnames of licensed traders who were settlers to the area. The High Plains Community Sappony are descended from members of the Sappony Nation who chose to remain in their ancestral homeland rather than migrate. The natural boundaries of the “High Plains” Sappony are the Hyco River, Mayo Creek, and Blue Wing Creek with the NC/VA border (created in 1728 by the surveying party of William Byrd and Sappony guides) running through the heart of the community. The High Plains Community Sappony is made up of persons with blood ties to seven families.